Shoppers staying away from High Street, early data suggests

Boxing Day shoppers are staying away from the High Street and shopping centres, compared with last year, early footfall data suggests.

Data gathered by MRI Software shows early morning footfall on UK high streets is down 12.3% on 2023, while shopping centres have seen a 13.9% fall in visitors, before 10:00 GMT.

The provisional figures are an early sign that online shopping continues to dominate the traditional Boxing Day sales.

Although many shops are still expected to see brisk trade on Thursday, major retailers such as John Lewis, M&S and Next have chosen not to open the majority of their stores, saying they wanted to give their staff a break over the festive period.

Overall Boxing Day activity levels are down 10.6% across all UK retail destinations, as at 10:00, compared to 26 December last year.

Analysts have told BBC News that bricks-and-mortar stores are becoming less profitable as they are expensive to keep open due to rising energy costs and, for some, Bank Holiday overtime pay for staff.

Online shops are cheaper to operate and generally have fewer overheads.

MRI Software’s Jenni Matthews said a year-on-year rise in footfall is anticipated from 27 December.

She said that, despite the early data, it was expected that many shoppers would “emerge from their post-Christmas slumber looking to replenish their groceries and see what Boxing Day bargains are available”.

The company will release more footfall data later.

The data so far suggests in-store visits are almost 50% below pre-pandemic levels.

UK retail parks, which often offer free parking and are more suited to bigger shops, fared slight better, seeing only a 3.3% fall in visits compared with last year.

In many ways Boxing Day is no longer a major shopping event in itself, as it was in the past.

Many retailers begin their sales online on Christmas Eve and brands are also spreading promotions throughout the year, including around Black Friday in November.

Meanwhile, the cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets.

Sales volumes in clothing stores recently fell to their lowest level since January 2022, according to ONS figures.

Diane Wehrle, analyst at Rendle Intelligence and Insights, said that amongst those who do choose to visit places on Boxing Day, the emphasis has shifted to spending on things to do, rather than things to buy.

She added that shopping habits have been changing for more than a decade as more consumers choose to shop online.

Barclays, which says it sees nearly 40% of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, forecasts that Brits are set to spend a combined total of £4.6bn on Boxing Day, compared with £4.7bn spent in 2023.

It says it expects the lion’s share of spending to be online – similar to 2023, when 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were online, according to the bank’s data.